While plant varieties are afforded strong protection in Turkey, it is important to tick all the right boxes. Ersin Dereligil and Yesim Metin give 10 key tips for rights holders.

The intellectual property rights of plant breeders have been protected in Turkey since 2004. Plant breeders’ rights (PBR) thus grant exclusive rights to the breeder of a new variety of plant over the propagating material.

This includes seeds, cuttings, divisions, tissue culture and harvested material such as cut flowers, fruits, or foliage of a new variety. In that sense, these varieties are required to be recognisably different from any other varieties and remain unchanged through the process of propagation.

"The right holder is obliged to use the protected variety in commerce in Turkey and file certified documents to bugem within three years of the publication date of the grant."